CUCUMBER MAGNOLIA
Magnolia acuminata L.
Other Name: Cucumber Tree.
Growth Form: Medium tree up to 75 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 3 feet; crown broadly rounded or pyramidal.
Bark: Gray or brown, with shallow furrows when older.
Twigs: Rather stout, reddish-brown, smooth; leaf scars alternate, U-shaped, with several scattered bundle traces.
Buds: Silvery-white, hairy, up to nearly 1 inch long, with a single bud scale.
Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades usually elliptic, short-pointed at the apex, rounded or tapering to the base, up to 10 inches long and more than half as broad, entire along the edges, yellow-green and smooth on the upper surface, paler and sometimes hairy on the lower surface.
Flowers: Greenish-yellow, up to 3 inches long, with usually 6 elongated, pointed petals, appearing in April.
Fruit: Oblong fruits up to 3 inches long, deep red, with several seeds. Young fruits look like small cucumbers, thus accounting for the common name. The fruits ripen from late August to October.
Wood: Light weight, soft, pale brown.